Is this a remote meter reading?

Yes, in the sense that you don't have to go to the flat: your tenant enters the reading in Brokik on their phone and can add a photo. Brokik does not connect to smart meters or to utility suppliers' systems.

Will Brokik read the number from the photo?

No. The tenant types the value; the photo is optional and stays next to it as evidence. When you approve, you see both.

When does the tenant get the reading request?

On the day of the month you set in the property details (the “Meter state notification day” field). If a month has no such day, the request comes on the last day of the month. Readings are due by the end of the month.

Do I have to approve every reading?

By default yes, because the settlement is created after approval. You can turn on automatic approval in the property's meter settings. You then get an email with the accepted readings and can correct them before the settlement is created.

What if the tenant doesn't submit a reading?

The utility settlement for that month is created only after the readings. Until then, your property list shows the reading as pending.

Can I enter the readings myself?

Yes. In the “I will report the meter readings” model the reading request comes to you and you enter the readings.

Does the tenant pay for an account?

No. The tenant account is free. Your tenant creates it from the invitation you send from Brokik.

Create account

Your tenant enters meter readings on their phone

On the day of the month you choose, Brokik emails your tenant asking for meter readings. The tenant enters each meter's reading on their phone and can add a photo. You approve or decline the reading, and approved readings go into the monthly settlement.

Create account See who sees what

A “remote reading” in Brokik is the meter value your tenant enters on their phone, with or without a photo. Brokik does not connect to smart meters or to supplier systems.

Meter readings in Brokik — who does what and who sees what

This is how the “Tenant will report the meter readings” billing model works. The same cycle from two places: the owner's or manager's screen and the tenant's screen. Every screenshot comes from the live Brokik app.

Owner or managerTenant

Choosing the billing model
At the start of the tenancy
Owner or manager: In the property's meter settings you choose the “Tenant will report the meter readings” model.
Nothing to doThe owner sets the model and the unit prices. Your first reading request will arrive by email.
Reading request
On the day you set
Nothing to doBrokik sends the request itself, on the day of the month set in the property details.
Tenant: You get an email with the deadline, the list of meters and the last readings. The button in the email takes you straight to the readings in Brokik.
Reading from the phone
By the end of the month
Nothing to doWhen the tenant saves the readings, you get an email saying they are waiting for your approval.
Tenant: You enter the meter reading and Brokik works out the difference. You can add a photo of the meter straight from your phone.
Approve or decline
After the reading
Owner or manager: You see the previous and new value, the difference and the meter photo, which is everything you need to decide.
Nothing to doIf the owner declines the reading, you get an email asking you to correct it and you enter the value again.
Settlement from readings
After approval
Owner or manager: From the approved reading Brokik calculates usage and cost for each utility in the monthly settlement, next to the rent.
Tenant: You see the same settlement on your phone, and the usage from your reading is a separate line.

Brokik does not read the number from the photo: the tenant types the value and the photo is the evidence next to it. Brokik does not connect to smart meters or to supplier systems.

Good to know

Details owners ask about before the first reading.

Automatic approval
In the meter settings you can accept every tenant reading without approving it by hand. You then get an email with the accepted readings and can correct them before the settlement is created.
Warning on a lower reading
When the new value is lower than the previous one, Brokik warns before saving that the meter may have been replaced.
Reading history
Every reading, with its date, previous value and photo, stays in the property's “Meter States” tab.
When a reading is still missing
The monthly settlement is created only after the readings. Until then, your property list shows that the reading is pending.